The train system was back to normal, and I made it to Wudang in time for lunch and coffee by early afternoon.
Returning to the school after a short break always feels strange. The feeling usually passes as soon as I’m back in training, but this time a doctor has told me to rest for two weeks. Resting in a Kung Fu school is far less fun than practising in one.
The leg is better, though far from perfect, so for once in my life I’m going to do as I’m told. The upside is that there’s plenty of work waiting on StillPath, which, if I’m honest, is a bit of a mess. Lots of ideas, no firm direction, and the feeling that we’re throwing things at a wall to see what sticks. More importantly, we need something we can actually make with the resources we have, which at the moment means me and my filmmaking skills.
Normally, I’d back myself to get it done. I know I can get a lot from a little. But looking back over everything I’ve made, two things stand out.
There is a big difference between a personal brand and a corporate one. All my corporate work was built with money and crew. All my personal brand work I did myself. But the personal work always had a person at its centre, a human being treated as the brand, and that gave me something firm to hold. StillPath wants to be more corporate than that, which may be why it feels like there’s no obvious place to start.
We’re selling something that has to be felt. I agree that StillPath has to be more than Louis, but once the talking is finished, it’s hard to say what it actually is.
It’s been a while since I’ve had this much trouble getting my teeth into a project. So tomorrow I’ll sit down with a blank sheet of paper, write ten ideas, and see if any of them stick.